A Second Chance
by John Silver fan
Summary: Ganondorf gets a second chance.
1. One Chance

The Sages stood before the fallen King of Evil.

"It's over," said Rauru.

"At long last," Impa agreed.

Saria, Darunia, and Nabooru said nothing.

Nabooru knelt beside the fallen man, her brother. Reaching out, she closed his lifeless eyes.

"I know I should feel something, but I don't. I feel nothing. Not joy, relief, not even a bit of sadness."

"You should be relieved," said Darunia, the Goron Sage of Fire.

The Sage of Spirits stood.

"Well, I'm not. I don't even feel any kind of sadness that my brother now lies dead."

Rauru, the Sage of Light, approached the Gerudo Sage.

"What happened, Nabooru? You were acting strange during Ganondorf's battle with the Hero of Light."

"I heard him call to me, but he was different. He was like he had been before he became corrupted. He begged me to help him,… to save him."

The other Sages pondering this for a few minutes.

Saria, the Kokiri Sage of the Forest, then spoke up.

"Perhaps we have been wrong about Ganondorf. Perhaps it was not his conscious choice to become what he did."

"How could it not be a conscious choice?"

Impa looked thoughtful.

"Power can be very corrupting, Darunia. Nabooru, when did he first begin to change?"

"When he began to train under Twinrova in the Dark Arts. Why?"

Rauru quickly caught on to Impa's train of thought.

"Perhaps it was their dark magic that first corrupted him."

"And the Triforce of Power fed the dark magic, allowing it to consume him until he became the monster we've been fighting," Nabooru finished.

The Sages of Light and Shadow nodded.

"Is there any way to bring him back but remove the Dark Arts from him?"

"You want to bring him back?"

Nabooru struck an idea.

"Wait, Darunia. Saria may be on to something. Without the Dark Arts to corrupt him, Ganondorf may be back to normal."

"And if not?"

"We seal him away again."

It was decided.

Ganondorf Dragmire first became aware of his entire body crying out in pain. He moaned and slowly opened his golden eyes. He was rewarded with the sight of the evening sky.

He blinked as his other sensed kicked in. He could hear and feel a gentle breeze. His body was weighed by his armor. He could smell grass and feel it under his fingers. His mouth and throat were dry, and he tried, unsuccessfully, to wet his dry, cracked lips.

He suddenly became away of voices coming towards him. Two were female, and one was male. As they became clearer, he recognized two of the voices; Link, Hero of Light, and Princess Zelda.

"Hey, how did the Master Sword get out of Ganondorf?" questioned Link.

The Hero approached, bent to pick up his sword, and jumped back with a yell.

"Link, what is it?" asked Zelda and the other woman.

"He moved!"

Ganondorf realized his body was twitching from being in one position for so long. He couldn't hide that he was alive anymore.

Link, Zelda, and Midna all nearly screamed when the King of Evil slowly sat up.

The Gerudo King inspected himself, appearing just as confused as they. They then noticed the changes in him.

His wound from his failed execution was gone, his skin was no longer a sickly shade of green but a healthy, deep tan, and his eyes were no longer crazed with madness and a lust for power. His face was relaxed though a little confused.

"How are you alive?" Midna finally demanded.

"I would like to know that myself."

His deep, gruff voice no longer held sarcasm and malice, only confusion and wonder.

"It was our doing."

All four turned to see the sages.

"Ganondorf Dragmire, you have been purged of your knowledge of the Dark Arts, which corrupted you centuries ago. We are giving you one chance to live in peace. If you revert back to your old ways, you will be sealed away once more, this time for eternity."

Link and the Princesses looked at their enemy, who looked even more confused than they did.

"Why? Why are you taking this risk with me, after all I've done?"

"Everyone deserves a second chance, even you."

The Gerudo stiffly got to his feet.

"Hero of Light, Princess Zelda, Princess Midna, you must watch Ganondorf to see how well he adapts and uses this opportunity. He is the last of his people and therefore has nowhere to go. You must assist him when he needs it."

They reluctantly agreed.

"You have one chance, Ganondorf. Use it wisely."


	2. Training

The Sages vanished leaving the Gerudo King, Hero, and Princess to look at each other, trying to understand what had just happened.

"Well now what do we do?" Link asked.

"I guess we take him back with us," Zelda responded.

Midna looked at her friend.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"He was never seen by the people, and hardly anyone remembers the old stories, or at least his name."

They reluctantly took Ganondorf back to Hyrule Castle with them.

Over the first few days, after Midna left, Link and Zelda had very little contact with their enemy. Ganondorf didn't mind. He spent most of the time in his room, thinking over his past actions.

Link returned to Ordon, and Zelda finally began to interact more with the Gerudo King.

One afternoon, she found Ganondorf in the training ground, practicing with his sword. She watched him effortless cleave the training dummies in half. He was powerful and had a grace and agility that defied his great size.

The Gerudo rivaled a Goron in height. He filled his great frame with pure muscle, which allowed him to match a Goron, which was no small feat. With the Triforce of Power, he was even stronger than a Goron.

Princess moved closer, watching him wield his great sword with no effort.

He currently wore only a dark gray tunic, tan pants, and black boots. His hair was free from his headdress and tied in a loose ponytail hanging about halfway down his back. His muscles flexed with ease under his clothes.

Taking notice of his watcher, Ganondorf turned and gave her a salute with his blade, smiling.

"I can see why you were a renowned warrior back in the era of the Fierce War and against the Hero of Time."

The huge man grinned.

"I've heard you're not so bad, yourself, Princess. Care to spar?"

Zelda smiled and drew her sword.

"I would be delighted."

Ganondorf saluted once more and stood ready.

"Ladies first."

The Princess attacked, and the Gerudo parried with ease.

"Perhaps swordplay has lessened since I last fought, not counting against Link."

They sparred for a few minutes, though Zelda quickly realized she had no hope whatsoever of even lessening Ganondorf's defense.

"Your technique is poor, Princess, and you are expanding too much energy too quickly. Whoever trained was not very accomplished themselves."

Zelda frowned but knew he had a point. He was a warlord, a renowned swordsman, and a fearsome warrior.

"We have not truly needed swordsman for a longtime."

"Yes, I know, but that does not mean that swordplay should be degraded. Allow me to teach you to better your skills."

The Princess hesitated only briefly. Surely she would never have a better teacher than the man before her.

"Very well."

Servants and guards would look into the training ground to see their Princess training with the tall, dark man who had arrived days ago. The man put many on edge just by his mere appearance. He was a huge man, muscled, and stern looking.

Zelda quickly found herself enjoying the training. Ganondorf was proving to be a competent teacher. He was patient and made sure he was aware of her limitations, which did not go nearly as far as his own.

The Gerudo King smiled as Zelda was quickly making progress. She was a fast learner and had obvious skills with a blade when she used it correctly.

They stopped when a servant came to tell them dinner was ready.

"That will be all for today, Princess. You have come farther than I expected."

Zelda smiled.

"Thank you. You're a good teacher."

"Thank you."

They headed inside.

"Shall we continue tomorrow?"

"If you wish."

The Princess nodded.

"I do."

"Then we shall."

They both smiled as they made their way to the dining hall. Each looked forward to the next day of training.


End file.
